I am struck by the content of chapter 15.
    After the rebellion of the people, and God’s harsh treatment of them through the Amalekites, I would have expected further narrative of Israel’s wanderings and rebellions.  That will have to wait for chapter 16 for this chapter goes back and reiterates laws concerning offerings, laws that might be better positioned after Leviticus 7 or Numbers 29.

    At last it is time to take possession of the land God has been promising since Genesis 12.  It is a “good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey” (a description that occurs five times in Exodus and Leviticus).  And so, he sends spies on a long journey (as you can see from the green line on the map) to reconnoiter the land.

    I know it has been difficult to see, but the book of Numbers thus far has been preparing you for the continued journey of Israel from Sinai.  We began with God’s selection of leaders in every tribe (Chapter 1).  In chapter 2, the tribes (except for that of Levi) were arranged around the tabernacle of the Lord.  There are three tribes on each side, and a lead tribe for each three.  God also prescribed how each of these tribes were to move out.

    Numbers 5:11-31 contains one of the weirdest rituals you will find in the Old Testament.  It is preceded by a law dealing with purity in Israel: everything impure, even if it looks impure, is to be expelled from Israel’s camp.
    In our own day we find this more than harsh.  Is it not our calling to minister to those who are ill and suffering, no matter how repugnant might be their condition?  We wouldn’t think of expelling them from our presence.

    Have you noticed how little God’s people were to be concerned about money and wealth?

    Have you noticed how little God’s people were to be concerned about money and wealth?

    Leviticus 23 details the holy times of Israel’s calendar.

    The laws presented thus far are inviolable because God has given them.  He is “the Lord.”  But God doesn’t leave it at that.  In chapter 19, he repeats a phrase that occurred in 11:44.  God is holy.  Because of that, Israel is to be holy.
    Israel is holy because God has set her aside from the nations and taken her for Himself.  But having done so, He has brought her into union with deity, and because God is Holy, Israel is also required to be holy.